The Shadowkiths’ origins are steeped in secrecy, but what is known is that they have strong links to the realm of Shadows. The Shadowkith are born with the features of rats or crows and eat both freshly killed prey and carrion. They do not have long lifespans, but they do breed heavily with each other of the same type. The Shadowkith (or kith) are associated with death and decay for both their lifestyle and their use of necromancy.
History

Like the Yo’Tan the Shadowkith’s true origins remain a mystery. However, the story of their origins is past down from father to pup.
When humans die their souls travel through the veil to go into the ‘shadow’ in order to be reborn. As they pass through the veil the souls are scrubbed clean of their ‘life experiences and learning’. This is what the Shadowkith call their ‘Essence’. The Essence usually just exists as huge roiling ugly mass, but once, back in the years gone by just the right pieces of knowledge collided and bonded as a cloud, the cloud rapidly gained sentience and became the creature known as the ‘Great Kith’.
When the Great Kith came into this world from the shadow it was nothing but a roiling mass of energy and power, no true form, no true shape. The first living this seething cloud came across was a rat and a crow locked in a vicious fight over the corpse of a snake. The cloud swept over the rat and crow, infusing them with knowledge, twisting and changing their bodies, leaving them as bipedal beasts a cross between beast and man. The first lesser kith had been born. For many, many generations the descendents of these two kith bred with each other and the numbers of the kith spread across the land. These first kith looked different to the kith of today, much more savage, animalistic and brutal in their pursuit of 'knowing'
Culture

The Kith, being creatures born of the veil and of the knowledge of those who have lived before have an insatiable drive for learning and a strong link to the afterlife/shadow. The kith are not necessarily evil. They are just another race, some will be kind heroes, others will be twisted villains and the majority will lie somewhere in between. A kiths appearance is due to their life experiences. Nearly all kith are curious and inquisitive. They generally go about their lives in a relatively reserved, controlled and intelligent manner.

The Kith eat carrion. Some eat any and all carrion they find, others are more choosy and only eat 'selected corpses' as part of a rite. They believe that by eating parts of bodies they can gain knowledge and insight from the dead. For example they may believe that eating the brain will allow an insight into their foe’s knowledge, eating the heart, their emotions and so on

Religon

The Shadowkith rarely follow the Gods, instead giving homage to the “Great Kith” that they see as their creator. They also pay homage to spirits of poisonous plants and carrion creatures. There are given as homage

Costume
Shadowkith look like humanoid crows or rats. They usually sport a monotone plumage or skin tone in Black, grey or white. They normally wear clothing in the same colours and normally ragged and tattered, with totems of bones and skulls adorning them as gruesome jewellery.

NamesShadowkith tend to be named after poisonous herbs and plants, or other names that try to add to their reputation.